DU Releases Impressive Study Abroad Numbers—And Looks to Increase Them

Photo: Rayna Rosenthal

The University of Denver ranks 8th among doctoral-granting universities in the percentage of undergraduate students who study abroad, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE). 

New numbers from IIE show that more than 66% of DU's undergraduate population studied abroad in 2022-2023—a notable return to normalcy post-pandemic.

In 2024-2025, 885 DU students will go abroad—and 825 of them have already embarked on their journeys this fall.

Students are traveling to 35 different countries, the most popular among them being Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic.  

“We have students studying in nontraditional locations such as Georgia, Ghana and Tanzania,” says Emelee Volden, director of international education. “We’re also excited to have somewhat back-to-normal enrollment in Australia, New Zealand, China and Taiwan. These were the slowest regions to open up again for study abroad after the pandemic.”

One student’s mission to diversify study abroad

Seven out of 10 students study abroad during their time at DU. That’s in large part due to the Cherrington Global Scholars Initiative, which financially supports students’ roundtrip international airfare and visa application fees, making it significantly easier to study abroad at DU than at other universities.

But Kereine Ngoungui-Malemba had a question: What about those three out of every 10 students who don’t study abroad?

During her time as a study abroad peer advisor, Ngoungui-Malemba says her goal was to diversify the study abroad experience—in particular, identifying the groups of students who were less likely to study abroad and reach out to them. According to the Institute of International Education, most students who study abroad—69%—identify as white.

“I think I applied for this position mainly because I wanted to represent, in some ways, a lot of students of color who may not see their face in study abroad,” says Ngoungui-Malemba, who was born in Gabon, a country in central Africa.  

When Ngoungui-Malemba was an undergraduate student at the Korbel School of International Studies, she studied abroad in Seville, Spain. When she returned, she began working in the Office of International Education (OIE) as a peer advisor. And now, as a graduate student in Korbel, she works as a graduate assistant in OIE.

As a peer advisor, Ngoungui-Malemba gave weekly presentations to prospective study abroad participants, answering questions about the lengthy application process and encouraging students to look into the more than 120 global educational experiences that DU offers.

“We draw it out for them—‘This is what you need to do’—and by the time they leave, they realize it's not so bad of a process,” she says. “I really loved the job.”

Volden says peer advisors—who are paid student employees—do everything from giving general program selection advice to helping students navigate the OIE website.

“When a student really has no idea how to start, it’s very valuable for them to talk to a peer who's gone through a similar process,” Volden says.

Ngoungui-Malemba says she loved working with students and introducing them to the possibility of traveling to new countries—especially countries outside the popular Western Europe region.

“A lot of students might know where they want to go, or they might not know,” she says. “I really love when they don't know, because that gets me a little bit that of that leeway to achieve that goal of mine—to diversify study abroad.”

Earlier this year, OIE’s Cherrington program was recognized as a runner-up for the Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education in the Models of International Education Financial Support category from the Institute of International Education.

For more information on DU’s study abroad programs, visit the OIE website.